Hammerhead Sports Shark/Ray Alley

[southwardbound]

We just got back from a wonderful cruise on the Valor. We did the sharkray alley tour with Hammerhead sports. We were a little nervous with the tendering, as Carnival lets all their tours tender first. If you are on the Valor, get your sticker at 8am not 8:30am like they told us. We missed the first two tenders because we came at 8:30am. Almost missed our tour....

 

The boat ride to Caye Caulker is 21 miles long! We snorkeled for about 45minutes, our group had about 20 people in it and she had us go in groups of two. The waves were strong and even with a life vest the swimming was difficult. We did see some beautiful coral and fish, but the snorkeling at Tabayana Beach was better IMO. The rays and nurse shark were amazing and it was fun to be so close to them. The lunch was nice at Caye Caulker but we had little time shop and the island is not as touristy. I would have like to spend more time there.

[math_teacher]

We just got back from a wonderful cruise on the Valor. We did the sharkray alley tour with Hammerhead sports. We were a little nervous with the tendering, as Carnival lets all their tours tender first. If you are on the Valor, get your sticker at 8am not 8:30am like they told us. We missed the first two tenders because we came at 8:30am. Almost missed our tour....

 

The boat ride to Caye Caulker is 21 miles long! We snorkeled for about 45minutes, our group had about 20 people in it and she had us go in groups of two. The waves were strong and even with a life vest the swimming was difficult. We did see some beautiful coral and fish, but the snorkeling at Tabayana Beach was better IMO. The rays and nurse shark were amazing and it was fun to be so close to them. The lunch was nice at Caye Caulker but we had little time shop and the island is not as touristy. I would have like to spend more time there.

Thanks for the review. I also booked this excursion through Hammerhead. I am on the Glory that goes to Belize on May 9 and was wondering if anyone had done this excursion lately since there have been no posts. Where is the Tabayana Beach snorkeling tour?

[southwardbound]

The Tabyana Beach snorkeling is in Isle Roatan, Honduras. Carnival has a beach day excursion there and you just rent the snorkeling equipement at the beach and are on your own. The beach can get quite crowded, but the snorkeling is really awesome. Not everyone snorkels and there is so much to see. Our kids, 17 15 and 12 loved it.

[Will in sunny FL]

Hi All

We were on this Hammer Head tour on 5/04 & had a super time.

All went well & was as advertised !

No problems at all.

Best wishes.

Bill in FL

[iamsaz]

We just got back from a wonderful cruise on the Valor. We did the sharkray alley tour with Hammerhead sports. We were a little nervous with the tendering, as Carnival lets all their tours tender first. If you are on the Valor, get your sticker at 8am not 8:30am like they told us. We missed the first two tenders because we came at 8:30am. Almost missed our tour....

 

The boat ride to Caye Caulker is 21 miles long! We snorkeled for about 45minutes, our group had about 20 people in it and she had us go in groups of two. The waves were strong and even with a life vest the swimming was difficult. We did see some beautiful coral and fish, but the snorkeling at Tabayana Beach was better IMO. The rays and nurse shark were amazing and it was fun to be so close to them. The lunch was nice at Caye Caulker but we had little time shop and the island is not as touristy. I would have like to spend more time there.

 

I cruised on the Carnival Miracle in early April and Belize/Caye Caulker was my favorite stop. Our tour guides for the snorkel trip, Heni and Mario, were fantastic. They made sure everyone's masks fit properly and stressed safety above all else. I also enjoyed swimming with the sharks and rays. Got some great photos while we were there too, both with my digital and underwater cameras. The water is so clear and beautiful.

 

I was disappointed that I wasn't able to spend more time on Caye Caulker as well. However, I had enough time to do some shopping as well as talk to some tourists from the U.S. who were actually vacationing on the island. After getting nice feedback from them, I knew this was a place I would have to visit again. I just purchased my plane ticket to Belize and will be returning in November for a ten day stay. Caye Caulker is a great place, especially if you want to get away from all the touristy stuff. I love to cruise, but I love Caye Caulker more. :p

[colkev]

We were on the Miracle 4/23 and had booked a shark ray alley/Caye Caulker tour through Hammerhead. Upon arrival on the dock we were told we would not be taken out because they did not have enough bookings. Luckily I remembered my second choice, Ecological Tours, and they quickly booked us on the same tour for less money.

I cannot say enough about this company. The guides, Herbie and Jerry gave us a wonderful history of Belize during the ride out to the snorkle sites and really went out of their way to help us appreciate all Belize has to offer. I will never use another company there. The snorkle sites were great, the restaurant on the beach of Caye Caulker was gorgeous and the chicken dinner for $7.00 was better than any food on the ship. It was a fabulous trip. I just want people to have a plan B when thinking about Hammerhead, for I'm not the first to post this experience.

[Tarheelbelle]

Does Ecological Tours have a website?

[misfit cruiser]

We used this company in Belize, and they were absolutely fantastic - with one very important exception. We were told that all tours were to return by 1:00 local time. We told them upon arrival that our last tender was at 2:00 local time. However, halfway through the tour it became apparent that we weren't to be returning until at least 1:45. Yet everyone was still given over an hour for lunch on Caye Caulker, and of course there were four stragglers who ambled slowly back to the boat ten minutes late. We made it to the tender at four minutes before two. I can't tell you how scary it was to nearly miss the ship like that. To their credit, they held the pedal to the metal, as it were, to make it back to the dock in time - but what if there had been a problem along the way? I only booked that particular tour because it would have given us an hour extra room (the boat landing was only 100 feet from the tenders). I really would have preferred that they put us on a shorter tour if they were planning to cut it that close.

 

Other than that, as long as you check and double-check the timeframe of the tour and make sure everything is very clear, you will have an awesome time with Henny and Zach. Not only were they informative and professional, they were very careful to make sure the reef was treated carefully by everyone. They were also funny and friendly. The bags of purified water they freely handed out were very good, and lunch was provided on the absolutely gorgeous Caye Caulker. So for their handling of cruise ship tenders they get an F, but for the quality of their tours and their guides, they get an A++ and if you have the time, definitely book them.

[colkev]

Their website is www.ecotoursbelize.com. I have to apologize for calling Randy by the wrong name. For some reason I wrote Jerry. It was Herbie and Randy and they were excellent!!! Enjoy.

[snorkel_dentist]

Wow! That's always my greatest fear, missing the ship and being stuck somewhere, glad you made it on time.

 

I know it costs more sometimes, but that's one of the reasons I prefer to book through the cruise line - then they have to get you back on time!

 

I don't know Hammerhead, but some people on my last cruise took the Paradise Belize snorkel tour through the cruiseline, their website advertises a Shark/Stingray tour too, has anyone tried this one?

 

Janice